March 20th, 2013 
Grace Duffy 
Artist: A Rocket to the Moon
Album: Wild & Free
Genre: Pop/rock
Label: Fueled by Ramen
A Rocket to the Moon would have you believe they’re a rock band going by their description of themselves, but don’t believe it for a second. This is pure, polished, technicolour pop of the highest order. Not that this means it’s of particularly high quality, but rather that it is almost commendably shameless in its pursuit of feelgood frolics. The band sound remarkably like a male version of Taylor Swift. Indeed, were you to take her songs through a plasticine factory and hack up the lyrics with some of Escape the Fate’s more car-crash musings, you wouldn’t be too far from what awaits here. Lyrics such as “I want to drown in your love and drink ‘til I’m drunk” and “tears made of Maybelline” practically deserve a medal for the sheer breadth of uninspired banality on display. It’s as if they looked around them and plucked out similes using random items from kitchen stands and shelves.
Yet, for all that this is mostly ridiculous, it is surprisingly likeable. Very likeable, in fact. In the same way that one can overlook the frothier aspects of the likes of Ms. Swift because her music is just too darn catchy, A Rocket to the Moon make a strong case for carefree mayhem. They can do a decent chorus and plenty of wistful serenades, which is just about all one needs to anchor themselves in the teenybopper market these days. Add the hair straighteners and pastiche clothing and the scene children will follow.
The band wear their heart on their brightly-coloured sleeves pretty much throughout. “Going Out” is cheerful and quaint, revelling in its summery satisfaction. “First Kiss” is Taylor all over, its whimsical guitar notes and soft vocals inching ever closer to delight and excitement. The lyrics are sweet and nostalgic and laden with the wishful pining of adolescence. Set aside your cynicism – the doe-eyed naivety of it all is enchanting in its own way. So many bands sing about wanton harlots breaking their hearts over recycled pop-punk riffs that it’s almost refreshing to hear A Rocket to the Moon put a smiley face on it. The sugary insecurity and sentimentality of it all doesn’t have to work that hard to win you over.
“Whole Lotta Love” is methodically breezy and “I Do” boasts possibly my favourite of all their lyrical gems (the girl in question’s Sunday best is “a pair of holy jeans.” That’s catchy.). The songs are all arching pop choruses and softer underbellies, designed to tug adorably at the heartstrings while keeping enough rhythm to get listeners on their feet. It is well done overall, though by the album’s dying moments you’ll have had more than your fill. On other tracks, the band incorporate slightly more intensive elements, though it does little to alter the prevailingly chirpy mood. “If I’m Gonna Fall In Love” has stronger guitars and a good rhythm, perfectly marrying formidable chart appeal with the flavour of something homely. The wild and free of the title track is just about summed up by a brief and very half-arsed guitar solo; just before “You’re My Song” compares the speaker’s paramour to ‘sweet home Alabama’ and pinches a line from “Born to Run,” amongst others. It’s brazen, and ludicrous, but too good-natured to dislike.
Surprisingly, the band do actually manage one excellent evocation of atmosphere on the album. Hushed and sombre, “Another Set of Wings” is very different to the other tracks. Vocalist Nick Santino is numb and interrupted, his introspective musings evoking a blank sense of loss and desolation. It’s peaceful but this makes it troubling, as the ghostly presence of a female backing vocal and one dulled guitar wrap the song in sadness and doubt. It’s oddly effective considering how manipulative it could seem, and speaks of an ear for sound and mood conspicuously lacking elsewhere on the record.
All in all, Wild & Free is clichéd, derivative, repetitious, and trite – but you’ll bop. And sometimes a good shameless bop is all you need ask, really.
SCORE: 7/10
Review written by Grace Duffy
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